82. Breaking Impasse (4)

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Hymns: RHC 394 Deeper and Deeper 395 A Heart Like Thine 402 His Way With Thee

Job 32:10-16

10 Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will shew mine opinion. 11 Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst ye searched out what to say. 12 Yea, I attended unto you, and, behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his words: 13 Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not man. 14. Now he hath not directed his words against me: neither will I answer him with your speeches. 15 They were amazed, they answered no more: they left off speaking. 16When I had waited, (for they spake not, but stood still, and answered no more;) 

Breaking Impasse (4)

OUTLINE

  • Speech of Elihu (32:1-37:24)
    • Elihu joins debate breaking impasse (32:1-22)
      • Anger with Job (32:2)
        • Justifying himself (32:2)
      • Anger with 3 friends (32:3-5)
        • Condemning Job unjustly (32:3-5)
      • Profile of Elihu (32:6)  
    • Plea for Audience (32:6-33:3)
      • The reason for his initial silence  (32:6-9) 
        • Teaching of the Holy Spirit Through God’s Word (v6-9)
      • The reason for his speaking  (32:10-22)
        • A Vindicating Word (v10-16)
        • A Spirit-Contrained Word (v17-22)
      • The desire for Job’s attention  (33:1-3)[1]
    • Justice of God (33:4-34:37)
    • Sovereignty of God (35:1-16)
    • Justice and Power of God with man and His Sovereignty and Benevolence with Nature (36:1-37:24)

Continue…

  • The reason for his Speaking  (32:10-22) 
    • A Vindicating Word (v10-16)

10Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will shew mine opinion. 11Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst ye searched out what to say.

James said well concerning the Christian demeanour inJames 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

James 1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

When we were studying this text on the Book of James during Cottage Meeting:

New Nature Energized by God’s Word (v19-27 cf. v18) 

  1. Receives God’s Word (v19-21)Rejects Old Fallen WaysQuiet before GodReceives God’s Ways

What means by which we can live a victorious Christian life? It is with the help of the Word of God. The Word of truth (v17) must be dominant in nurturing, guiding, and disciplining the life that God implanted by means of the Word. God’s Word is depicted by three imageries: as seed (v21), as a mirror (v23), and as a law that gives freedom (v25).[2] The born-again believer with a new nature is energized by the Word of God. 

He exhorts us to spend time quietly in the study and meditation of God’s word. Speak less, listen more to the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. Let the Word of God transform your mind. Once the mind and the heart are convicted of the truth, the actions of the hands and feet will conform to the Word of God.

He exhorts us to spend time quietly in the study and meditation of God’s word. Speak less, listen more to the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. Let the Word of God transform your mind. Once the mind and the heart are convicted of the truth, the actions of the hands and feet will conform to the Word of God.

We will observe Elihu now making four speeches. The first in Job 32-33, the second in Job 34 and the third speech in Job 35. Finally, his fourth and final speech in Job 36-37.

When is the sum of Elihu’s speech? Swindoll observed well, “First, God disciplines a person to turn him from the error of his way. That principle is as timeless as it is true. God never waste tests. When God bears down, His goal is to turn the wayward back to Himself. Second, God governs justly; He’s fair. Another reliable fact. The major theme of all that Elihu has to say can be stated in three words: God is sovereign. He is not only good all the time, He is in control all the time. “Even when I’m sick?” Yes, even when you are sick. “Even when I can’t understand why?” Yes, even when you can’t explain the reasons. “Like this right now?” you ask. Absolutely. God is never shocked or surprised. Our lives, therefore, are never out of God’s control. And furthermore, God doesn’t feel obligated to explain Himself. The truth is, even if He did, most of us still wouldn’t get it, because His ways are deep and His plan is profound. In hopes of driving this significant truth home, I will repeat: God is sovereign, and He doesn’t explain Himself, nor should He feel obligated to do so.” [3]

He further observed, “Neither Job nor the three counselors answer Elihu at any time. These six biblical chapters run uninterrupted. There’s no response. There is no dialogue. From start to finish it’s a monologue…” [4]

 12 Yea, I attended unto you, and, behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his words: 

… behold, there was none of you that convinced Job – which was not owing to his obstinacy, but to want of proof in them, their words and arguments; they had charged Job highly, as particularly Eliphaz Job 22:5; but then they failed in their proof; they produced nothing to support their allegations.

Job 22:5 Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?

or that answered his words – the arguments and reasons he gave in proof of his own innocence and uprightness, or the instances he produced, showing that God often afflicted good men, and suffered the wicked to prosper; and therefore, no argument could be drawn from God’s dealings with men, proving they were either of this or the other character, good or bad men. [Gill]

13 Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not man. 14 Now he hath not directed his words against me: neither will I answer him with your speeches. 

Lest ye should say, we have found out wisdom – They were left to themselves, and not directed to take the proper methods of convincing Job, and answering his arguments; lest they should be wise in their own conceits, and attribute too much to themselves; or Elihu told them this, that they had not convicted Job, though they had condemned him, nor answered his arguments, though they had left off speaking; and this he was obliged to say, and that for the reason before observed: for all wisdom is of God, and not to be found out or acquired by men; not natural wisdom, that is not of men, but of God, and especially supernatural wisdom, or the knowledge of divine and spiritual things, and the reason of God’s dealings with the sons of men in the different manner he does. [Gill]

Job 28:12 But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?

There was no response from Job’s friends to Elihu’s observations.

 15They were amazed, they answered no more: they left off speaking. 16When I had waited, (for they spake not, but stood still, and answered no more;) 

They were amazed– They were like persons thunderstruck, quite surprised and astonished to hear a young man talk after this manner: 

they answered no more– as they had ceased to answer Job, they did not undertake to answer Elihu, who had plainly told them their arguments were not convincing, their answers were no answers, and that they had done a wrong thing in condemning Job without proof; and that which they thought their greatest wisdom, and strongest argument, had no wisdom nor strength in it; namely, which was taken from his sore afflictions by the hand of God: 

they left off speaking–  or words departed from them, their speech left them, they seemed deprived of it. [Gill]

To be continued…

[1] Hannah’s Bible Outlines.

[2] James speaks in practical terms concerning what believers’ will experience when they live their Christian life. And he teaches them how to live this life of faith to receive God’s blessings. He showed to marks of true faith.

He began the letter by warning the believers scattered all over Asia Minor (v1) how to handle the trials (v2-11) and temptations (v12-18) that come their way. He taught them to go through trials with joy, patience and prayer (v2-8). In particular, he cited the trials that come with poverty and riches, teaching the believers how they are to view material possessions (v9-11). There are those who lost their livelihood as a result of their faith and were living in modest material comfort. He encouraged have an eternal perspective toward the temporal nature material things of this life, that their lives be rich toward God rather than finding security in the riches of the world. Then he told the believers concerning the nature of temptations (v12-16), delineating it’s cause (v13-14), it’s consequence (v15) how succumbing to temptation is a life gone off course (v16). 

He told us the blessing of overcoming temptations in life is the heavenly reward or “crown” of eternal life (v12). God is not the author of temptation. It is the “flesh” or fallen man in them that draw believers to sin and the consequence of sin is death (v13-15). He warned against yielding to temptation (v16).  Having shown the reward (v12), the snare (c13-16) of temptation, he showed how to refrain from yielding to temptation (v17-18) by showing how to counter temptation by remembering God’s goodness and the innate ability within us to overcome sin by the new nature in us. Now, he explains to us the means by which we can live a victorious Christian life is with the help of the Word of God.

[3] Charles R. Swindoll, Job – A Man of Heroic Endurance, Thomas Nelson, 2004, 250-251.

[4] Ibid.